


Prey

by orphan_account



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Hallucinations, Manipulative Deceit Sanders, Mental Health Issues, Other, Paranoia, Schizophrenia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22367371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: They were all in his head.*Please read the tags before proceeding*
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	Prey

**Author's Note:**

> Slightly different to my usual stories but I felt like self projecting and this was where I ended up. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to point out any errors I've made, this is not meant to offend people with mental health issues in any way and I apologize if I get anything wrong.

He was scared.

The room was dark. It was dark, and unknown, suspicious creatures lurked in the darkest corners of the room, waiting for the right moment to attack. He sat in the middle of the room, curled up tightly on the floor like a discarded piece of paper, useless and left to gather dust. The room felt dusty, and his breath kept catching in his throat, choking him and sending a fresh jolt of panic through his system. 

"I'm scared." A small, low voice whispered from nearby. Probably Virgil, he was Thomas's Anxiety after all. Even if those stupid doctors didn't believe him. 

"It makes absolutely no sense." Another voice, definitely Logan, mused, and Thomas managed to turn his head and watched the Logical side as he tapped his pencil against his chin.  _ One, two, three _ . A steady, constant movement that he was able to focus on. Virgil fell silent. 

"It was like we were completely unable to move." Roman muttered, deep in thought. Thomas shuddered at the memory. From an outsider it must have seemed peaceful, as though he was just deep in thought or something, but inside it was the complete opposite. Virgil had instantly panicked, but with the lack of movement ability all he could do was scream the same panicked phrases over and over again, while the other sides tried desperately to console him. They were all scared. 

"It's those stupid fucking doctors, Thomas." Deceit - he'd given Thomas a different name beginning with D every time he'd asked, and Thomas decided this one was the most suitable for him - snarled, kicking the wall near the spot Thomas was sitting. "Those pills that are supposed to help everything."

"Why would they want to trick us like that?" Patton whispered, his voice still shaky. Today wasn't one of his good days. 

"They want to trap us, remember? We can't fight back against their little… experiments if we can't move." Deceit replied immediately, sneering at the word 'experiments'. He always seemed so sure, so certain that he knew what was happening, but Thomas was reluctant to believe him. Deceit lied a lot. 

From the other side of the room, the phone chimed, and in a synchronised move, both Thomas and Virgil curled into a tighter ball. Thomas let out a whimper. 

"Easy kiddo. It's just your phone." Patton soothed, though his words barely helped. 

"That's probably Joan. We said we'd meet up with them today, remember?" Roman whispered. 

"No! No fucking way!" Virgil shouted. The others flinched. 

"We'll just have to tell them we're still sick." Deceit decided. The others nodded, minus Patton, who looked like he wanted to say something, but instead shuddered, turning his head wordlessly. 

"I do feel a little sick, actually." Thomas murmured. 

"Are you gonna throw up?" Remus asked from behind him. Thomas shook his head. 

"He can't. He hasn't eaten in 3 days." Logan stated matter-of-factly. There was silence. 

"That isn't good." Roman muttered eventually. Virgil whined, rocking back and forth. 

"You need food. You need to take your meds. You should probably shower too." He chanted. 

"Don't touch the medicine." Deceit threatened in a steady voice. 

"One thing at a time. Stand up, Thomas." Logan commanded. Thomas stayed in his place on the floor, a nervous feeling in his stomach. He wanted to stay here.

"Come on kiddo. You'll feel better." Patton managed a weak smile. The smile held hope and optimism, and looking at it gave Thomas what he needed to move. He stood up weakly, swaying on his feet a little. 

"Good. Can you walk to the kitchen?" Logan asked a little slower. Thomas nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and stepped across the room to the doorway. His footsteps rang out across the room.

"You're being too loud." Virgil and Deceit hissed in unison. Thomas slipped his shoes off, leaving them nearly by the door, and continued on his way to the kitchen. 

When he got there, the others following, Logan made him pour himself a fresh glass of water and drink it down, instructing him to grab another. 

"Break the glass." Remus yelped suddenly. "It has a camera attached to it!" 

"What? That's preposterous, how-" 

"There is." Virgil agreed, stepping closer to Remus. "Break it." 

"Thomas, if you're that worried about the glass, get a different one from the cupboard." Logan sighed. From beside him, Deceit waved his hand, and Thomas's hand jerked. He threw the glass watching as it shattered against the wall. Well that was the end of that. He calmly turned back to the cupboard, grabbing another. Logan, deciding it was best to ignore that incident (they could clean up the glass later when Thomas was in a better mindset), persuaded Thomas with a few kind words, and before he knew it he was standing there with a safe glass of water in one hand and a pill in the other.

"You got this." Patton reassured him. 

"No." Virgil spoke quietly, but Logan sensed that chaos was on its way. 

"Come on, Thomas. Just one gulp and you can forget about this until tomorrow." Roman tried. 

"You don't want it, Thomas." Deceit argued. "Remember what the last one did to you!" But Thomas felt a surge of confidence and popped the pill into his mouth, about to chase it down with some water. 

"That'll shut us up. You'll be all alone." Remus teased in a sing-song voice. Thomas gagged and spat the pill onto the floor. 

"Okay." Logan ran a hand over his face exasperatedly. "Are you up for some food, Thomas?" When Thomas nodded, Logan gently pushed him in the direction of the cupboard, where Thomas grabbed a granola bar and ate it as though it was his last ever meal. Logan felt proud, at least a little. 

"Good. Now…" the instructions continued, and Thomas followed them in a tired daze. When he came to his senses once again, he was in the shower, soap in hand. He didn't remember getting there, but the light was beginning to flicker, and he felt his nerves begin to rise. 

All he had to do was get through this shower. Then he could lay around and think until he was bored of it. But as he rinsed shampoo from his hair, he became aware of another presence in the room. 

Then the light flickered again, and he was interrupted by screaming. He jumped out from the shower, falling to the floor in a heap as his breathing began to pick up speed, like the downfall on a roller coaster it raced far ahead of him. His head felt light, and he couldn't breathe, he couldn't even think. 

The sides tried to soothe him, but their words were all blending together, making it sound as though they were speaking another language. He reached for his towel, hiding underneath it as though it would somehow protect him. 

It was nothing. Just a glitchy bulb or whatever. Why did it have to be such a big deal?

But this was how most days were now. Each day they told him something different and he didn't know what to believe. Each day he'd neglect social interactions, food, even moving unless he had no choice. 

He couldn't tell what was real and what he was dreaming anymore. Nothing felt safe. 

An hour later he was laid on his bed, breath still a little uneven. He couldn't remember how he got here, but his stomach felt comfortably full, and his hair smelled of strawberries, so he felt alright. He'd stay here for now. 

An hour turned into a day. A day turned into days. Neglecting to get up for food, water, bathroom breaks, to answer the door when it eventually started to bang. His phone rang from downstairs, over and over, even after it had run out of charge. He couldn't do anything, no matter what any of those doctors or his family or even the sides told him.

He was scared.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr - straight-as-ramen


End file.
